Means for operating elevators



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J. PUTMAN.-, MEANS FOR OPERATING ELEVATORS. No. 564,313. Pat'e-ntedJuly21, 1896.

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' J. E. PUTMAN. I MEANS FOR OPERATING ELEVATORS. N0. 564,313. PatentedJuly 21, 1896.

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J. E. PUTMAN. MEANS FOR OPERATING ELEVATORS.

No. 564,313. Patnted July 21, 1896.

WITNESSES: INVENTOR govt/i0! {CW/4% a/m NITED STATES ATENT OFFICE.

JOHN E. PUTMA N, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

MEANS FOR OPERATING ELEVATORS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 564,313, dated July21, 1896. Application filed December 18, 1895. Serial No. 572,510. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern: 7

Be it known that I, JOHN E. PUTMAN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Oook'and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Means for OperatingEleva tors, of which the following is a specification. My inventionrelates to means for operating elevators or lifts for passengers andfreight, and for other objects or structures which require to be raisedand loweredor moved to and fro, and is a modification of the inventionpatented to me August 13, 1895,by United States Letters Patent No.544,37 8. In the invention described in that patent the movement of theload is accomplished by means of a lever having a fulcrum adapted to beshifted in relation to the lever, one end of the lever being connectedwith the load through ropes, pulleys, and the like, the free end of thelever swinging through the arc of a circle, greater or less, accordingto the load to be moved. In that device means are provided for shiftingthe relative positions of the leverand its fulcrum.

The present invention relates to and its object is to provide anapparatus of the class above referred to in which the fulcrum and thelever shall permanently occupy the same relation to each other, themovementof the load being accomplished, through intermediateconnections, by means of a weight or weights adapted to be shifted uponthe lever. In the accompanying drawings, illustrating my invention, madepart hereof, Figure 1 represents a side elevation of one form of mydevice; Fig. 2, an end elevation of the same, partly in section; Fig. 3,a cross-sectional view of the lever. with its rack and pinionhereinafter referred to Fig. 4, a longitudinal side elevation of thesame, partly in section; Fig. 5, a modified form of means for shiftingthe weight hereinafter referred to, together with a modified form ofdevice for communicating motion to the shaft of the hoisting-drumhereinafter referred to; Fig. 6, another alternative device for movingthe weight, hereinafter referred to, to and from the fulcrum-point ofthe working lever; and Fig. 7 a side view of the lever shown in Fig. 6.Like figures of reference indicate like parts throughout the severalviews.

In the drawings, 1 is the cage, traveling vertically on ways (not shownin the drawings) and supported, raised, and lowered by rope 2, passingover pulley 3, secured to hoisting pulley or drum 4, and provided with5, the usual counterbalance to the cage. 6 is a lever, preferably astout beam of iron, fulcrumed, in the example here shown, at its middleand mounted upon trunnions 7, journaled in supporting-frame 8.

9 9 are weights secured to the lever 6, which is channeled or grooved toreceive the weights in such manner that the weights may be moved to andfro upon the lever without lateral displacement. The weights may bemovably secured to the lever or walking-beam, as at 6, by means of metalstraps secured to the weights and bent under the lower side of the beam.These weights are connected by a rack-bar 10, the teeth of which areengaged by a pinion 11, secured to shaft 12, which passes through andhas its bearings in an axial bore in trunnions 7. Secured to oneextremity of the shaft 12 is a worm-wheel 13, which is engaged andactuated by a worm 14. This worm is secured to a shaft 15, journaled inframe 8, which shaft carries a drum or pulley 16, over which and overpulley 16 passes a rope 17, which in its course leads through the cage 1within convenient reach of the operator.

Secured to the lower side of the lever 6 is a stout segmental rack 18,which has for its center of motion the axis of shaft 12, passing throughtrunnions 7. The segmental rack 18 is engaged by pinion 19 on shaft 20,journaled in frame 8. Upon shaft 20 is secured a hoisting drum or pulley4, around which is wound rope 2, which leads over pulley 3 at the top ofthe runway of the cage, and which rope is secured to and supports thecage.

The operation of my device thus far described is as follows: Referringto Fig. 1, if the cage is to be raised, the operator pulls downwardly onthat part of rope 17 which passes through the cage, causing the drum 16,shaft 15, and worm 1.4 to revolve, thus communicating motion throughshaft 12 and pin ion 11 to the toothed rack 10, to which the weights 9are secured. The motion of the rope 17 causes one of the weights '9 totravel outwardly toward one extremity of the lever while the otherweight approaches the center of the lever. That end of the lever whichhas become the heavier by thus shifting the weights now by its owngravity begins to de' scend, giving motion to the segmental rack 18,which, through pinion 19, shaft 20, and drum 4, windsrope 2 upon thisdrum, causing the cage to ascend so long as the lever or walking-beam 6continues to tilt. hen it is desired that the cage shall descend, anupward pull on rope 17 causes the weights to travel in the oppositedirection and produces an operation of the parts above referred to thereverse of that above described.

The advantage of actuating the weight through wormgear 13 14 is that theweights 9 are thus held locked in any position to which they may beshifted upon the lever or walkingbeam, so that their very great weightwill not cause them to break loose or escape when their beam is tiltedat an acute angle to the floor. Other methods of securing the movableweights 9 in constantly-locked position in their ways or grooves willsuggest themselves to those skilled in the art, and I do not, therefore,limit myself to any particular mechanism for obtaining this result.

Though I have shown the hoisting-drum as actuated by a rack and pinionintermediate the tilting lever and the drum, it should be understoodthat I do not limit my invention to any particular form ofpower-transmitting mechanism connecting the tilting lever and thehoisting-drum.

For illustration I have shown two weights attached to the walking-beam6, arranged on opposite sides of the fulcrum 12, but it should beunderstood that a single weight adapted to travel from end to end of thewalking-beam will accomplish the same result, though not so rapidly orsatisfactorily.

It should be understood that the cage is provided with suitable brakes(not shown in the drawings) placed as usual within convenient reach ofthe operator.

Various means of shifting the weight upon its walking-beam will suggestthemselves to those skilled in the art, among which are obviously thescrew, a piston driven by steam, hydraulic power, compressed air, or thelike, and which do not require illustration here. Another method ofactuating the weights upon its walking-beam is a lazy-tongs, asillustrated in Fig. 5. In this modification of my invention the rope 17passes around a pulley, upon the shaft of which is a pulley 25, drivingan endless rope 26,.which in its course engages, as at 27, a joint inthe lazy-tongs 28, fixed at one end to the lever, near its fulcrum, andat its other end to the weight. The motion of the rope 17 communicatesmotion through the endless rope and the lazy-tongs to the weight.

It will be observed that in Fig. 5 the lever is fulcrumed near one end,instead of at its middle, and it will be understood that thefulcrumpoint will vary according to conditions,

such as the load to be moved, the space through which it moves, and thecharacter of the hoisting-gear employed. In Fig. 5 it will also be seenthat a straightrack maybe substituted for the segmental rack above referred to by pivotally securing the straight rack to one end of thewalking-beam. This straight rack may be caused to reciprocate in apivoted guide, and to thus communicate motion to the shaft of thehoisting drum through a pinion on said shaft engaged by the straightreciprocating rack.

Another method of shifting the weight which will suggest itself is shownat Fig. 6. In this modification of my device the weight consists of oneor more beams 29, of any desired length and weight, pivoted or hinged atone end, as at 30, near the fulcrum of the walking-beam. Rope 17 passesaround a pulley 31, upon the shaft of which is a drum 32. Around thisdrum passes rope 33,1eading over pulleys 34 and secured at theiropposite ends to the two vertical sides, respectively, of the swingingbeam 29. When pulley 31 is revolved by the rope 17, the drum 32, throughrope 33, causes the beam 29 to swing in a horizontal plane. Now, whenthe swinging beam is at a right angle to the walking-beam and in linewith its fulcrum, its effeet is m'l, but upon the beam being swung ineither direction the weight upon the walkingbeam will be correspondinglyincreased in that direction, and the more nearly the beam approaches aline parallel with the walkingbeam the greater will be the downward pullupon the walking-beam on the side toward which the beam is swung.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is-- 1. A means for operating elevators and the like,comprising a lever, a weight, such as a cage, suitable connectionsintermediate said weight and said lever, a weight movably secured to andadapted to move longitudinally upon said lever, and means for shiftingsaid last-mentioned weight upon said lever, substantially as and for thepurpose specified.

2. A lever, a shaft secured to and forming a fulcrum for said lever, aweight, such as an elevator-cage, suitable connections between saidweight and said lever, and a movable weight upon said lever, incombination with means for shifting said weight upon said lever,substantially as and for the purpose specified.

3. A hoisting-lever, a weight, such as an elevator-cage, suitableconnections intermediate said lever and said cage, and a movable weightupon said lever, in combination with a toothed rack movablelongitudinally upon said lever and secured to said weight on said lever,a pinion engaging said rack, a worm-gear adapted to drive said pinionand means for actuating said worm-gear, substantially as and for thepurpose specified.

4:. A hoisting-lever, a weight, such as an elevator-cage, another Weightmovable upon said lever, and means for shifting the latter weight, incombination With a segmental rack secured to saidlever having for itscen- 6. A lever fulcrumed upon a trunnion, a weight movably secured uponsaid lever, a rack on said lever secured to said Weight, a shaft havingits bearings in an axial bore in said trunnion, a pinion on said shaftengaging said rack, a Worm-gear adapted to actuate said rack and pinion,and means for actuatin g said worm-gear, in combination with a segmentalrack secured to said lever,a Weight,

such as an elevator-cage, and suitable conneotions intermediate saidsegmental rack 0 and said latter weight, substantially as and for thepurpose specified.

JOHN E. PUTMAN.

In presence of- E. W. LEWIS, THos. R. SHAW.

